Surgical site infections after post-bariatric abdominoplasty and flank liposuction: a case–control study focusing on the quantity of tissue removed

Abstract  We evaluated whether the quantity of fat removed during abdominoplasty and liposuction correlated with the occurrence of surgical
site infection (SSI). We selected patients of similar age, sex, smoking status, obesity, and post-bariatric weight loss, retrospectively,
and classified them into groups according to the development of SSI. The total amount of fat removed and aspirated was compared.
The size of the flap removed from the abdomen and the amount of fat aspirated with liposuction differed significantly between
the SSI and no-SSI groups (1.6 Â± 0.2 vs. 0.6 Â± 0.3 kg and 2 Â± 0.2 vs. 0.9 Â± 0.3 l, respectively; p < 0.001). The four SSI patients with the most fat removed (1.4 Â± 0.2 kg…